Charlottetown council votes against supervised injection site

The City of Charlottetown is saying no to plans to create a supervised injection site to the Park Street Emergency Shelter.

During a special meeting Monday evening, councillors voted seven to three against a recommendation by the city's planning board for a temporary variance to establish the province's overdose prevention site at 15 Park St. for one year.

"I'd say it's probably one of the most toughest decisions I've made as a elected official," said Coun. Alanna Jankov, who voted no on the resolution.

"I focused on three key points when it comes to community impact and I looked at lack of planning, lack of responsibility and lack of meaningful consultation by our provincial government."

The site would have consisted of two combined modular units. It was originally going to be located at 33 Belmont St. — across from the city's main food bank — but during the spring provincial election campaign, the Progressive Conservative candidate for the district said it would be moving elsewhere, and Premier Dennis King later said that was indeed the new plan.

The provincial government's intention was to let people use the facility to take drugs they obtain themselves, with the centre supplying kits for them to test their drugs for the presence of dangerous substances such as fentanyl.

The site would have been run by PEERS Alliance.

"We have our unhoused, we have our mental health, we have our addictions and we all have to work together — community,  business, levels of government — everybody to try to look out for everybody," Jankov said following the special council meeting Monday night.

"Every day I would worry about those folks that are not in a good place. They are somebody's mother, father, daughter, brother, sister, husband, partner… it's a crisis."

During a chaotic public meeting last July, many residents voiced concerns about the operation potentially being situated at the Park Street Temporary Emergency Shelter.

During the council meeting on Monday night several councillors suggested the province look at a roaming mobile unit to deliver supervised injection services across P.E.I. Jankov agreed that the province should look at that option, but she isn't sure how it would work.

"I don't know enough. I am not an expert," she said.

"All I can say is that if we can find a path forward then that's a great thing, but I don't know logistically how a mobile unit would work."

During the meeting Coun. Bob Doiron told the rest of council people who live near the Park Street Temporary Shelter are having issues with people trespassing, property damage, discarded needles and public drug use and worries setting up a supervised injection site would worsen issues in the area, he said. Doiron voted against the site.